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Promotional art for The Dreamer
Cover image credit: via TMDB

The Dreamer

Dave Chappelle

Netflix · 2023 · 56 min

A slower, defensive victory lap recorded in his hometown.

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Dave Chappelle opens his seventh Netflix special with a story about visiting the set of Man on the Moon and finding Jim Carrey refusing to break character as Andy Kaufman, comparing the actor’s insistence to transgender identity. It is a prompt signal that despite promising to move on from the topic in his previous hour, he is not quite ready to let it go. Filmed at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C., and released on New Year’s Eve in 2023, the performance feels like a victory lap by a performer who knows he is too big to be derailed. Under the direction of Stan Lathan, the set uses a narrative frame about holding onto childhood aspirations. He reacts to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, brings back his running commentary on Jussie Smollett, and settles into the comfortable, slower-paced storytelling that has defined his late-career style, including an extended anecdote about performing over the thumping bass of a San Francisco nightclub early in his career. Critics largely dismissed the hour as a repetitive effort that relied on familiar provocations, while fans of his later style found comfort in his slower, anecdote-driven delivery.

The set list

8 bits

  1. Meeting Jim Carrey on the set of 'Man on the Moon' while Carrey remained in method character as Andy Kaufman.

    Uses the disappointment of having to pretend Carrey was Kaufman as an analogy to how transgender people make him feel.

  2. Pivot from making fun of transgender people to making jokes about disabled/handicapped people.

    Explains that he loves punching down and disabled people are not as organized as the gay community.

  3. Writing a play to repair his relationship with the transgender community.

    Describes a tear-jerker play about a Black transgender woman whose pronoun is the N-word and who dies of loneliness because white liberals do not know how to talk to her.

  4. Hypothetical scenario of being sentenced to jail in California.

    Jokes that he would identify as a woman to be sent to a women's facility and intimidate other inmates.

  5. Impersonation of Titanic drowning ghosts reacting to the 2023 Titan submersible implosion.

    Gurgles out ghost reactions to the underwater catastrophe.

  6. Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards and Chris Rock's stand-up response.

    Spends fifteen minutes reflecting on 'The Slap' and analyzing Rock's special in Baltimore.

  7. Getting tackled on stage at the Hollywood Bowl in 2022.

    Recounts how the assailant had a knife replica gun, attempting to diffuse the tension by claiming the attacker was a trans man, and noting the assailant was bisexual.

  8. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    San Francisco taping of his 1998 HBO half-hour special interrupted by loud venue music. closer

    Reflects in an encore bit on the disruption and ties it to meeting Lil Nas X in the present day.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, provocative, confessional, and unapologetic.
On stage
Irreverent, defiant, self-congratulatory, adopting an antagonistic wrestling-heel posture in an embroidered shirt bearing his name.
Pace
Freewheeling, long-form narrative pacing, taking pauses to smoke a cigarette on a stool.
About
Dreams and manifesting success, The aftermath of Chappelle's Show, Transgender and LGBTQ+ issues, Handicapped people and punching down, The Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscars slap, Being attacked on stage at the Hollywood Bowl

What the critics said

Extensively panned by critics (20% on Rotten Tomatoes) for fixating once again on hackneyed, mean-spirited trans and disability jokes, and self-congratulatory storytelling, though some highlighted his storytelling abilities.

In the room: Receptive and enthusiastic in the venue (holding an 82% Popcornmeter score), despite divided reactions online.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, cnn.com, rottentomatoes.com, nytimes.com, decider.com, theguardian.com, variety.com, imdb.com.

Backstory

Filmed in his hometown at the Lincoln Theatre where he taped 'Killin' Them Softly' in 2000. Follows sustained controversy and Netflix employee walkouts surrounding his 2021 special 'The Closer' over anti-trans material, alongside real-world incidents like Chris Rock getting slapped at the Oscars and Chappelle being attacked on stage at the Hollywood Bowl in 2022.

Details

Released
Taped
Lincoln Theatre, Washington
Runtime
56 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Stan Lathan
Honors
Primetime Emmy Award Nomination - Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) (2024)Primetime Emmy Award Nomination - Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special (Stan Lathan) (2024)Directors Guild of America Nomination - Outstanding Directing - Variety Specials (2024) and 2 more
Topics
Before
What’s in a Name? (2022)
After
The Unstoppable (2025)

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